Paily Promenade
by rwatkins
Summary: It's Prom and Emily hasn't heard from Paige since she left for California, what will Emily do while her friends enjoy what is supposed to be the greatest night in a teenagers life?
1. Chapter 1

Promenade

Emily took a deep breath, Spencer, Mona, Hanna, and Aria looked at each other, assuring each other that they were finally free, that for the first time in years, they were finally free of A. The girls stood outside their gated prison, the sound of police sirens echoed for miles, helicopters hovered all around them as the police escorted A in handcuffs.

"We've waited years for this, so why do I feel like we lost?" Spencer said looking on as the blonde woman was shoved in the back of a squad car.

"Because Spence, after everything she did to us, we never saw her as human, we saw her as a demon that did terrible things to us for no reason. We were wrong…" Aria replied, linking arms with Spencer.

"I can't believe Cece would do this to us… To Alison…" Hanna held Emily's hand, laying her head on the brown-haired woman's shoulder.

"I'm sorry," Mona circled around the girls so she could all see her; they looked confused by the apology.

"Sorry for what, Mona? You had nothing to do with this… Right?" Hanna replied, obviously concerned.

"No, but I feel somewhat responsible for all of this. When Cece came to visit me in Radley I was in a dark place, she offered me freedom and another chance at revenge and I took it. I'm sorry." Mona started to tear up, the guilt she had built up for years had finally eaten away the shield she had around her. The girls looked at each other and teared up as well, gathering around Mona they embraced each other and hugged. There was no more blaming, no more suffering in silence, and no more secrets.

"Girls," Tanner walked up, "I believe I owe you all an apology."

The five girls looked at each other, their body language was all it took for Tanner to get the hint, they accepted the apology however reluctant they were in doing so.

"What's going to happen to Cece?" Hanna asked, she obviously didn't care at this point, as long as wherever she went that it would be out of a hundred mile radius of Rosewood.

"Well, she's going to have a mental evaluation and we'll see where it goes from there," Tanner paused as the worried looks on the girls' faces became more and more apparent, "-from there she will most likely be tried and sentenced. She won't bother you girls ever again."

'_Is it really over? Could it really be that easy?' _The five girls thought, of course after all they had been through they had their doubts. Tanner continued…

"She won't be allowed any kind of technology and there will be surveillance on her 24/7, you girls won't be hearing from her any time soon."

There was a sigh of relief from the group, it was over, and suddenly they started crying. A weight had been lifted and they all felt it, tears rolled down all of their faces and their tears of sorrow turned to happiness and laughter.

Toby, Ezra, and Caleb ran over to their partners and embraced them. This was the moment they had waited and worked toward for so long that they had to cherish every moment of it. Emily looked over to the couples and tried to be happy for them, she really wanted to be, but deep down she knew Paige was safe- that's all that mattered.

"Paige can come back now, you know that right?" Mona said, she could tell by Emily's expression that she expected Paige to jump out of her blue Toyota any moment.

"I know… I just don't know if she'll want to come back now. I haven't heard from her since she left Rosewood."

Emily crossed her arms, wiping a tear from her eye she tried to hide how much she missed her, Mona wasn't buying it.

"After all the shit you two have been through, the thing that broke you two up was distance? And here I thought it would be the tamales."

"Yeah, well… That makes two of us. And to be honest, those tamales were bland and dry."

Mona laughs, and the two lock arms as the couples regrouped, Caleb turns to Toby and gives him a nod.

"We can go home."

Spencer takes a deep breath in… "Home, I don't think I've ever heard a more beautiful word in my life."

They all laugh as Toby replies, "I have an even better word, 'Shower'" the girls all sigh in relief, if anything they missed the most, it was hot water and a warm bed, "Tanner said that each of you will be assigned an officer for a look out for the next week, just to be safe. She gave us the go-ahead to leave whenever you're ready."

"When I get home I'm going to take a bubble bath and stay in there until my fingers and toes look like grapes." Hanna says, leaning into Caleb.

The girls laugh as Spencer shakes her head and smiles, "I think you mean raisins, Han"

"Whatever! Just get me home already!" Hanna replies, rolling her eyes.

The group starts walking to the police vehicles, as they approach the passenger doors Spencer stops and looks back to the compound. The girls take notice, and look as well. They take it all in, every hole in the gated space, every rock, every patch of missing grass, this would be the last time anyone holds them hostage, the last A lair, the last A. It was over.

Two Months Later

Senior Prom was merely a week away, graduation only a month away, and the girls had neither seen, heard, or received an A message since Cece was arrested. Emily had started coming to terms with the fact that Paige wasn't going to be the one she went to prom with, and if Paige wasn't going to be her prom date, she didn't want one. That's not to say she wasn't going to attend Prom, with or without a date, Emily was going to experience Prom the best way she knew how… With her best friends.

Of course all of the girls had their dates, Toby and Spencer, Mike and Mona, Hanna and Caleb, Aria and Ezra, Alison and Noel; the whole gang would be there. Since the dollhouse, Mona became an addition to the group of girls, even Alison and Mona got along nowadays.

Today was Saturday, the day the six girls agreed to go to pick out prom dresses together and since the prom theme was Masquerade, they decided to pick out masks as well. After a few hours of Hanna trying on dress after dress she finally decided on a silver and white Chanel dress with matching Jimmy Choo's. Emily tried on two dresses before she finally came across a nice black prom dress, it very elegant and showed just enough cleavage but not so much that she could dance when she wanted.

Alison said she just tagged along for critique and support, and also to make sure Spencer didn't recycle that Mary Queen of Scotts gown, she of course was having a prom dress specially made for her from a Paris designer, yellow of course.

Mona found her dress almost immediately, a red silk evening gown with a bow tied in the back, it was just the right length and intensity for her. Aria, never to be outdone in the fashion department, chose a flapper-esque gold dress, almost matching the one she wore as Daisy on the Halloween train only slightly longer. And finally Spencer, she and Toby had a theme worked out that they would both have classic prom dresses from the 60's, she picked a very simple blue and black knee high dress with black heels.

Their masks were simple, Hanna had a half face silver mask, Emily had a beautiful black mask that covered her eyes, Ali got an antique gold and black masquerade mask, Mona found a beautiful red and black lace half-moon mask while Spencer and Aria decided to make their own.

The girls decided after a long day of shopping that they would relax at The Brew and have some coffee, after all, Spencer needed her hourly fix of caffeine. Setting their bags down they gave the barista their order and sat down to talk about the upcoming events.

"I can't believe we have less than a month of senior year left…" Aria said, sipping her chai latte as the girls nod in agreement.

"I can't believe we even made it to senior year," Hanna said, "I never thought we would make it."

Hanna's statement took the girls by surprise; they never thought they would make it. In the dollhouse they thought they were going to die, ever day they woke up with the exact same thought, _'This could be the last day of my life.' _And when that day was over, they went to sleep and it started all over again.

"We did make it Han, we all made it." Mona replied, taking Hanna's hand.

"So, are we taking a stretch limo together or…?" The girls look over to Alison who was trying to change the subject. She felt somewhat responsible for all that happened to them, she started it, she brought Cece into her life and theirs, and she felt like she needed to apologize ever y moment in every day for it. 

"My parents already rented a limo for the six of us, my mom insists we all stay together at all times in case anything happens to one of us. I think once we graduate she may hire you guys to stay with me so she knows I'm safe." Spencer laughs, she knows her mom is just trying to keep everyone safe, but it's been two months and she feels it's getting excessive.

"How much do you think she'll pay us? I mean if she covers my tuition, sign me up!" Hanna replies laughing.

"I'm in!" Emily, Alison, Aria and Mona agree and laugh with them.

Days like this were numbered for the six of them; they were all going their separate ways once graduation rolled around.

Emily gripped her coffee with both hands and her mind wandered, _'What would my life be like if A had never been there? Would I still be friends with the girls? Would Paige and I have dated? Would she have moved away?'_

"Em… Hey, Em? Earth to Emily?" Spencer waves her hand in front of Emily's face to get her attention, she snaps out of it.

"Hm? Sorry, I was just spacing out, what happened?"

"We were just getting up to leave, you okay?" Hanna said concerned.

"Yeah, I'm fine, just thinking about prom tomorrow." Emily replied, forcing a smile. The girls knew very well what a forced smile from her looked like; she wasn't getting away with it that easily.

"You sure you're all right, Em?" Spencer asked

"You know you can talk to us about anything Emily," Aria said, putting her hand over Emily's, comforting her.

"I'm fine guys, really. I think I'm just tired from all of the shopping, are we ready to go?" Emily said as she stood up and grabbed her bags.

The other five girls followed suit and walked out of The Brew, saying their goodbyes they left. Emily got to her car, hardly saying a word to the girls as she drove to her house.

She pulled into the driveway and stopped, Mrs. Field's car wasn't there so she may have gone out to the grocery store. Emily put the car in park; it had started raining on her way back so she just sat there for a moment watching the raindrops rolling down the windshield. Then, she started to cry. She cried as if she hadn't cried in years, draping her body over the steering wheel she let every pent up emotion she had from the past couple months and let everything out. She cried for her lost teen years, she cried for the loved ones she lost, but mostly she cried for Paige.

Emily ran every word, every sentence, every question, everything she had ever said to Paige and played it over and over in her mind and cried. Every tear was a conversation she wished she had with her, the salty tears fell from her chin to her shirt until it was soaked. She wondered why Paige never contacted her after she left for California, why she didn't call her, or even message her , even once saying she never wanted to talk to her again would've been better than shut out like this.

Finally, she was all cried out, she exited the car and retrieved the bags from the passenger seat, rain soaking her to the bone every second she spent outside. She ran in the door and climbed the stairs to get to her room, hanging up her new dress in her closet she notices a silver garment popping out from the corner. She moves a few shirts around to reveal her Barbarella costume from the Halloween train, she takes it off the hanger and looks at it for a second, tracing around the hemlines. Lifting the costume up she gets a whiff of perfume, a mix of chlorine and Armani Noir. Emily hadn't worn the costume since the Halloween train and she knew exactly who that perfume belonged to, Paige.

She takes a deep breath in of the costume; it was like Paige was there with her, giving her an embrace she desperately wanted for months. Emily took one last look at the costume and put it back on the hanger, closing the closet door behind her and getting into bed.

Emily didn't sleep well for the next 6 days, she didn't let the girls know how much she truly missed Paige but she had a feeling they knew. Finally, it was prom night. The girls agreed that they would all meet at Spencer's house and head to the venue from there, since Pam had an office party she decided to drop Em off on her way.

"You look so beautiful tonight Emmy," Pam said, admiring how much her daughter has grown, "It seems like just yesterday I was dropping you off for kindergarten. You were so upset."

Emily smiled, "Um, mom, weren't you the one who cried when you dropped me off?"

Pam laughed, nodding her head, "Okay, so what if I cried! It was like the beginning of the end!" she took her daughters hand, "Only a month left, I can't believe it."

"Neither can I… After all that's happened, I sometimes doubted I would get to this point. I didn't think I would make it to prom." Emily's words painted a sobering reminder.

"The point is, you made it sweetheart." Pam said as she pulled into the Hastings driveway.

"I know," Emily said smiling, she leaned in to kiss her mom on the cheek and proceeded to get out of the car, "Mom?"

"Yes Em?"

"Thanks." Emily said, smiling as she popped her head through the car window.

"For what?" Pam said, looking confused.

"For everything, just… Thank you for everything." Emily said smiling, Pam smiled back.

"I love you, Emmy. And have fun tonight honey." Pam smiled, nothing more needed to be said between the two, they both knew what that thank you was for. Sometimes, you just need to say thank you to your parents just for giving you the life you have, nothing more.

"Em! You ready?" Hanna trots out of the house in her 3-inch heels, Caleb tailing closely behind as the other couples slowly usher out of the house.

"Yep! Let's get going so we don't hit traffic." Emily replied, the couples entered the limousine one by one and they were on their way.

The venue was beautiful, the decorations were shark colors, balloons, streamers lined every corner of the ballroom, and every table had the students names on them along with a candle in the middle. The group circled around the room until they found the table with all of their names on it, luckily, the table was situated almost directly in the middle, close enough to the dance floor and buffet table so everything was accessible.

At approximately 8:30 pm the dance would start, they arrived about 20 minutes early so there were only a couple dozen people there already. The DJ started playing music and like clockwork teenagers started to flood into the venue, dancing around and having the time of their lives.

"Hey, I'm going to grab some food and drinks, does anyone want anything while I'm up there?" Toby said, getting up from his chair.

"Ooooh can you get me a plate with some of those cookies and a sandwich? Oh and some punch and chips?" Hanna says, the group all look at her in disbelief as she continues, "Oh… And a carrot stick, okay that's it!"

Toby shakes his head and laughs, "Hey Caleb, do you mind helping me with the order? Em, Mona, Ali, Aria, do you want anything?"

"Um, I may have some punch if it's not too much trouble, I can get it myself if you need an extra hand…" Emily says, obviously hinting that they probably need more than two people.

"Yeah Em, that would be great, I don't think I signed up for waiter duty tonight but I'm up for it!" Caleb laughs and shakes his head as he turns to Hanna and kisses her forehead, "Only for you."

The three head over to the buffet table and start making their plates, Caleb notices Emily hasn't exactly been lively this evening.

"Em, are you all right?" Caleb asks.

"Yeah I'm fine Caleb, why? Don't I look all right?" Emily says defensively, she's getting tired of people asking if she's all right all the time.

"No, I mean, you look beautiful, I just mean you look kind of depressed." Caleb says, picking up practically every food item on the table.

"I'm fine Caleb, really. I'm just tired of everyone thinking that they need to make me happy constantly, I'm fine, I just want to have a good time tonight."

Suddenly Toby puts his arm over Emily's shoulder, "You know we're just looking out for you because we love you."

"I know that, thank you guys." Emily smiles, she knows they're just trying to help make her have the best night ever, she just wishes they would stop acting as if she's a fragile little girl who may break any minute.

They end up back at their table with the food and begin to eat, just as the last few classmates arrive the group finishes their meal. The group chats about graduation and things, and as it is a masquerade they try to play a game, Guess Who, seeing if they can tell who it is behind the mask before they take it off.

"Okay, those two over there in the blue and pink dresses." Hanna says, motioning to a pair of girls hiding in the back only talking to themselves.

"Oh, that one is so easy, Cindy and Mindy." Hanna replies smugly, they wait only a few seconds and the masks come off, she was right.

"Hmm, it looks like they kept up with my makeover regimen, good for them." Alison says, sitting back admiring her handy work. Mona kind of half smiles at Alison's comment, even if they only kind-of get along, she admires Alison's abilities when it comes to makeovers and things she knows she's good at.

"Hmm, okay, I've got a good one," Mona says smirking, "Over there, the tall one in the way back with the tux and silver/black mask"

The group scans the back of the room to find the person Mona was pointing to, as they looked at the stranger, they became puzzled.

"I can't tell if they're male or female from here, broad shoulders but smaller legs?" Spencer says, still analyzing the person.

"Oh my god Spencer, it's a girl, I know you know boobs when you see a pair sweetie." Alison said smirking, the group laughed.

"Hmm I can't get a good look from here, they're just content with hanging back so they're probably quiet. Jackie, maybe?" Emily observed, still trying to figure out the stranger.

"I'm getting bored, who's up for a dance?" Caleb said as he stood up, offering his hand to Hanna.

"I'm in!" Spencer replied, Toby followed.

"Not me, Noel and I are just going to sit here for a while." Ali said, getting closer to Noel.

Emily shuddered at the thought of Ali and Noel making out in front of her so she decided to join the dance floor. A couple songs had played, Em danced her heart out and finally, as all dances do, a slow song started playing, "Make You Feel My Love" by Adele. The couples partnered up, everyone started swaying back and forth to the song and just as Emily was going to head back to her seat, she felt someone grab her hand.

"Please don't go." The stranger said, her soft hands pulling Emily in close so the two were touching bodies.

"I don't have to." Emily replied, a lump in her throat formed and tears started to cloud her vision, as the first tear traveled down her cheek the stranger took her hand and wiped it gently away.

Emily started to cry as the stranger took her hands and put them on her mask, prompting Emily to unmask the stranger. She knew who it was the moment she heard those three words, she knew the moment she touched her, and somehow she knew she would be here. That Paige, would be there.

"Paige," Emily said, her voice shaking and tears rolling down her face, "-what are you doing here? How did you get here?" Paige continued to wipe the tears from Emily's face as they started to dance to the music.

"After I hadn't heard from you the past few months, I decided to try and call your mom and ask when Prom was," Paige said, surprising Emily, "She said you were trying to contact me for months, it turns out A bugged my phone and email to deflect anything I tried to contact you with. When your mom said you cried over me for weeks, I knew I had to get out here, even against my parents. I'm never leaving you again, Emily Fields."

"I tried, I tried everything, I thought you hated me. I thought you never wanted to see me again." Emily said, still crying. Paige stopped swaying.

"I never want to hear those words come out of your mouth ever again." Paige said, taking Emily's cheek in her hand, wiping away the tears.

"I have never loved someone- WILL never love someone as much as I love you. NOTHING will get between us again, I won't let it."

Emily laughs and smiles as a tear streamed down her face, she was waiting to hear those words since the beginning of their relationship, this was their endgame.

"I love you, Emily Fields." Paige said, bringing Emily's face to hers as they kiss. They kissed as though it was the last time they would ever do so, but it wasn't the ending for them, it was merely the beginning of their happy ending. Their lips stayed touching, taking in every moment, each could feel the other smiling, and each shed a tear of happiness. They were together, at last, they were happy.

They pulled away and Emily rested her head on Paige's shoulder as they began to sway back and forth to the song, Emily took a small breath in and there it was, Armani Noir with a hint of chlorine. If this were their last moments on earth, neither would change a thing, because in that moment the world was perfect for them.

Emily looked up at Paige and the two looked deep into each other's eyes, then to their noses, and finally to their lips. Every word they had spoken, every kiss they had given, every secret they kept is written in the coding of their lips, and they knew they wanted to spend the rest of their lives discovering each other.

As the next song begins, the girls look around and realized they're being watched, there stood every one of their friends, almost in tears themselves over the reunion.

"How long have you guys been standing there?" Emily said, wiping her eyes and smiling.

"Long enough, Em. Long enough." Hanna said, wiping her own eyes as she embraced the two girls.

The evening continued, Paige and Emily couldn't stand to be away from each other, if they weren't holding hands they were just looking at each other, still in disbelief that it was all real.

It was about 11:00 before people started to leave and head home, Spencer had the idea to have an after party at her house because her parents were out of town on a job in Boston.

"So, are we headed to my house for the after party?" Spencer said as she stood up, getting her clutch and shoes.

"Actually," Paige looked at Emily, "If you guys don't mind, I'd like to steal Emily away from you tonight, if that's alright with all of you that is."

Everyone nodded in agreement, Emily smiled at Paige, "And just where are we going?"

"That's for me to know, and for you to find out." Paige smirked and winked at Emily, little did she know, the night was just about to begin.

To Be Continued….


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

The girls said their goodbyes to the group and began their walk to the car, holding hands all the way to the car. Emily couldn't stop looking over to Paige, she had a smug, almost smirk on her face and she just couldn't help but wonder what her girlfriend had planned.

"Just what are you smiling on about?" Emily said, bumping Paige's shoulder playfully.

"I told you, you're just going to have to wait until we get there to find out. I'm not telling!" Paige said, nudging Emily back.

As the girls reached the car, Paige ran over to the passenger side door to open it for Emily. Emily smiled that smile only Paige knows, her head tilted slightly to the right, her teeth gleaming and a smile so big her dimples show.

"Your chariot, malady!" Paige says, bowing as she opens the door, helping Emily into the car.

"Why thank you!" Emily laughs as she curtseys, getting into the passenger seat.

Paige runs around and gets into the car to start it; she fumbles with her keys for a moment until she finds the right one to start the ignition. Before she takes it out of park, she suddenly remembers something.

"Oh, I almost forgot!" She says, reaching in the back seat she takes out a bandana, "You have to keep this on until we get there, it's a surprise."

Emily looks at Paige suspiciously, 'Really?'

"Em, just trust me… Please?" Paige said, smiling as she gave Emily the cloth.

"Alright, I trust you, but you'll need to help me put it on." Emily turned her body so Paige could put the bandana on.

Paige took the small plaid cloth in hand; she took a second and just admired her girlfriend. Both of them were still in their prom clothes, Emily's dress was backless and in that moment she felt the full effect of the situation. Paige looked at Emily's back, the light bounced off her smooth skin and long wavy hair, admiring every curve and muscle that was visible through the dress.

"Paige?" Em looked over her shoulder, Paige cleared her throat, she knew she was caught staring.

"Sorry." Paige put the bandana around Emily's eyes and tied it at the back, being careful not to catch any hair in the knot.

"So how long am I going to have to keep this thing on?" Emily said, turning her head towards Paige who was now waving her hand in front of her face, just making sure she really couldn't see anything.

"Well from here it should take only about 20 minutes, you sure you can't see anything?" Paige said, just making sure the surprise wouldn't be ruined before they even got there.

"Paige, if I were any blinder I'd have sunglasses and a walking stick, I can't see a thing." Emily says, assuring Paige.

"Alright, alright, just making sure! I guess we're ready to go, oh and one more thing…" Emily hears a clicking noise and all of a sudden "So What" by P!nk starts playing.

"I just thought we'd take a little trip down memory lane on the way" Paige says, she looks over to Emily who's already smiling.

"Our first date..." Emily says smiling, suddenly she remembers something, "You know after that date I went home and listened to it over and over and practiced singing it?"

"You didn't!" Paige said, laughing as she drove off.

"I did! And my mom got so sick of it she hid my iPod for a week!" They started cracking up; it was like no time had separated them. They were right back where they started.

The girls talked and talked until the car fell silent, Paige knew she had to clear the air between them and bring up something she should've from the beginning.

"I'm sorry, Emily" Paige said, grasping Emily's hand. Emily turned her head towards Paige, curling her lips.

"We don't have to talk about it, Paige. It wasn't your fault."

"I shouldn't have left you Em; I should've fought harder to stay. When you told me Alison was in jail at the airport… Somehow, I knew it wasn't her doing all of this, Alison was a terrible person but she loves you. I should've known it would've gotten worse. I should've known you would try to contact me. I couldn't come to terms with the fact it was over, I thought if we didn't officially end it, it wouldn't be over between us." Even through the bandana, Emily could tell Paige was holding back tears.

"It was never over between us, Paige." Emily took her hand and wiped away the tear from Paige's face, suddenly the road became uneven and bumpy.

"Um… Paige, did we miss a turn?" Emily said, a bit of concern lingered in her voice as she tried to keep balance on her seat.

"No, we're almost there actually." Paige said, Emily could hear her laughing as she answered.

Suddenly the car stopped moving, Paige put it in park and turned to Emily who was visibly concerned at this point.

"Alright, I'm going to come around to your side of the car, don't take off the blindfold yet." Emily nodded in compliance as Paige exited the car, and circled around to her side.

Emily felt a small gust of wind as the passenger door opened; she could hear the faint sound of water hitting the shore in small ripples. Paige leaned down and took Emily's hand, helping her out of the car and positioning her in just the right spot.

"Okay, on the count of three I will take your blindfold off, alright?" Paige said, keeping both of her hands on Emily's shoulders.

Emily could feel her heart jumping out of her chest, every second felt like an eternity, she could feel Paige's breath on the back of her neck as she got closer. Paige edged closer behind Emily, putting her hands on the end of the bandana, ready for the countdown to begin. Finally, she whispered into Emily's ear… In-between counts, Emily could hear the sound of her heart beating faster and faster in her ears.

"One…" thump thump "Two…" thump thump "Three…"

The blindfold came off and all she could see was white, her eyes took a second to adjust and she realized exactly where she was, Paige's lake house. Paige had decorated the exterior in white Christmas lights, since the lake house was miles away from any city lights the only backdrop they had was the clear night sky. The lake mirrored the night sky and the cabin, you didn't know where the cabin lights started and where the stars stopped, they blended into each other. She was speechless, Emily had never seen something so beautiful in her life, no one had ever done anything like this for her before. Noticing Emily hadn't said a thing, Paige started to get nervous…

"Well… What do you think? I came up here last night and started putting the lights up, I just thought it might look nice because they would look like the stars and I mean if you don't like it I could take-"

Emily turned around with tears in her eyes and while Paige was in mid-sentence, she kissed her. It wasn't just a kiss, it was much more than that, this was a vow from one girl to the other, a vow that they promised to cherish for as long as they both lived. Emily's lips tasted of strawberries and the words of Emily Dickenson, powerful, soft, and sweet, while Paige's lips had the lingering words of Jane Austen and coconut cupcakes. Neither of them wanted to pull away first, their tongues playfully dancing around each other, every moment they had spent apart melted away and what was left was this kiss, this moment, this place.

Emily pulled away first, her eyes still closed for a moment while she savored the kiss, as she opened her eyes she noticed that Paige's eyes were still closed. Paige stood there for a second, her arms slowly moving down from Emily's arm to her hands, finally she slowly opened her eyes. Emily was standing in front of the cabin, the lights behind her outlined her body in a halo of light and in that moment, Paige had never seen anything more beautiful in her life.

"Woah."

That's all Paige could say. What she was feeling for Emily surpassed anything mere words could express, and that's all she could say.

Emily laughed and kissed her once more, just a peck. Finally, Paige snapped out of it, smiling at Em who was sheepishly smiling at what she caused.

"We should probably head inside" Paige said laughing, at this point she was blushing so hard her entire face looked flushed.

"Sounds good to me, do you want to lead the way?" Em replied, letting Paige lead the way in.

Paige took Emily's hand and led her into the lake house, the inside was covered in candles and the fireplace lit up the whole room. Looking around the room, Emily noticed a bucket on the kitchen counter with a bottle of champagne sticking out and walked over to examine.

"Where in the world did you get this?" She said, the champagne bottle was obviously on the more expensive side and Paige couldn't exactly walk in and buy it.

"Someone helped me out with it actually, why don't you read the card?" Paige said, smiling.

Emily looked at the card, it read 'To Emily and Paige, I have never been so proud of you girls. Congratulations to my two favorite girls in the world, Love Pam and Wayne'

"My parents? Seriously?" Emily said, giggling.

Paige got two champagne flutes out of the cupboard and walked over, smiling.

"When I called your mom and told her my plan, she insisted on being a part of it, and she told me 'If my girls are going to have a drink on prom night they won't be drinking out of a box of wine, not if I have anything to say about it.'"

The girls laughed, "I can believe that" Emily said, holding up her glass as Paige poured some in each flute. They raised their glasses for a toast.

"To graduation, and to us." Paige said, clinking their drinks together.

"Yes, to us" Emily agreed and clinked glasses.

They each took a few sips and moved over to the couch in front of the fireplace, Paige sat on the farther corner of the couch and leaned back, putting her feet up on the table. Emily sat next to Paige; she put her champagne down on the table and proceeded to lie down on the couch so that her head was on Paige's lap. The girls talked and laughed for hours, they told stories and filled each other in on what happened the past few months, the good and bad. Emily looked into Paige's eyes as Paige ran her fingers through Emily's long brown hair, the fireplace was the only source of light, their shadows danced on the walls of the cabin that painted their own story.

As it got later, Paige got up and put the stereo system, "Glitter in the Air" by P!nk starts playing as Emily sits up on the sofa. Paige walks over to Em, offering her hand as she gets up, the two girls stand and face each other looking deeply into one another's eyes. Emily drapes both of her hands over her girlfriend's strong shoulders; Paige takes Emily's waist and pulls her in closely as the two start swaying back and forth to the music. The flames from the fireplace flickered as the two danced, their shadows moving from one side of the room to the other as if following the couple.

Emily looked into Paige's eyes and pulled in closely so her chin was on Paige's shoulder, suddenly Paige started singing softly into Emily's ear as the song progressed.

"Have you ever wished for an endless night? Lassoed the moon and the stars and pulled that rope tight? Have you ever held your breath and asked yourself will it ever get better than tonight?"

Emily pulled back a little to look at her girlfriend smiling back at her, finally the last line of the song came and Paige mouthed the last word.

"Tonight."

She smiled, her eyes moved from Paige's expressive brown eyes to her soft pink lips. Emily smiled and moved both of her hands, one to push a stray lock of hair out of Paige's eyes, the other to cup her cheek. Paige moved her own hand and put it over Emily's, the two smiled at each other and finally they kissed, it was as if their lips were made for each other- each perfectly matching every movement the other made. It was soft yet passionate, Paige brought Emily's body in closer so they were touching, their kissing intensified and suddenly Paige moved from Emily's lips to her neck, kissing her jawbone down to her clavicle, not missing an inch. Emily stretched out her neck to give Paige room to work, closing her eyes and enjoying every moment, suddenly Paige stopped.

"W-why did you stop?!" Emily said concerned, Paige merely smiled and kissed her lips once more.

"I almost forgot I have something for you." She went over to the bedroom; Emily fixed her hair and lipstick just to make sure she looked perfect when Paige came back.

A minute or so passed, Emily stood in the living room as she heard Paige rummaging through drawer after drawer trying to find something. Finally, Paige emerged from the bedroom, she was obviously hiding something behind her and judging by the goofy smile she had on, she couldn't wait to give it to her. As Paige approached Emily, she became more and more nervous, Emily took notice and raised one eyebrow in skepticism; she had never seen Paige this nervous before.

"So, this is for you." Paige said, taking out a small wrapped box.

Emily's eyes widened, the box was approximately five or six inches long and one inch wide, wrapped in a pretty silver wrapping paper topped off with a red silk bow. She put one hand over her mouth as Paige handed her the present, she took a second before she started to unwrap the present. Starting with the bow she slowly unwrapped the small gift, every second that passed gave Paige more and more anxiety, the butterflies in her stomach felt more like a colony of bees. Finally, the wrapping paper came off revealing a small jewelry box; Emily opened it revealing a silver necklace with a key at the end. Emily held the necklace up, looking confused at the gift.

"Where does this key go to?" Emily asked, obviously confused.

Paige took the necklace and motioned for Emily to turn around so that she could put it on her, she followed along and the necklace fit perfectly around her beautiful neck. Emily looked down and took the key in hand, suddenly she noticed the small engraving on the key, 'E.F.+P.M.'

"This key," Paige says, taking the key in hand and bringing it up so Em could see, "-this key belongs to our apartment in California."

"Oh my god… Oh my god, Paige… Are you serious?" Emily says, tearing up.

"Will you move in with me, Emily?"

"YES! YES! A MILLION TIMES YES!" Emily jumps up and down, wrapping her arms around Paige as she kisses her.

"You, me, Donuts and Diners." Paige says, smiling and kissing her girlfriend.

"Wait, what does my mom think of it?" Emily says, looking concerned.

"I asked for her permission yesterday, she said she'll help us with the moving truck as soon as you graduate" Paige replied, smiling and holding Emily.

"I really love you, Paige."

"I love you too, Emily. I really do."

The two kissed, smiling all through the night as they looked at their future, the needed to look no further than in each other's eyes to see what the future may hold for the two of them. Whatever life handed to them, they would deal with it together, they would never be alone for as long as they had each other.

They made love throughout the night, the dying embers of the fire warmed the two as they slept in each other's arms on the couch, only covered by the old quilt they shared. Paige woke up first, Emily had slept with the key around her neck and nothing else, she smiled and kissed her girlfriends cheek. This is what pure happiness felt like, this is what she was going to wake up to every morning for the rest of her life, this is who she wanted to spend the rest of her life with.

Seeing that the sun had not come up yet, Paige nudged Emily awake with a kiss, she whispered into her ear that she had to show her something special. Reluctantly Emily woke up, she wrapped her naked body in the quilt and met Paige outside on the dock. Paige was waiting in a sunbathing chair on the dock and since it was still dark out she had taken a candle to guide her way. As she heard Emily walking up, Paige motioned for her to sit on her lap, the two wrapped their bodies in the quilt as Emily leaned back into Paige's shoulder. They sipped their steaming coffee as they watched the sunrise over the lake, the sky was painted with pink and orange clouds, the fog covered the lake in a small mist. Nothing was ever so beautiful.

"Is it everything you hoped it would be?" Paige asked Emily

"It was unexpected, I'll say that." Emily said, smiling while she kissed Paige.

"Unexpected is good, just look at us."

"I love you."

"I love you too, Em"

The End.


End file.
